NOTES for Isa 9:9-21
Today we read Isaiah's prophecy, which was fulfilled already during the prophet's lifetime: words about the destruction of Samaria, which together with the whole Northern Kingdom was destroyed in 722 BC. And in this prophecy there are several things that draw attention by their relevance. The prophet speaks of people (a believing people) who do not see in their own disasters the fruit of their lawless deeds. This is precisely what makes the catastrophe unavoidable.
Never mind, the northerners say, that the country is in decline, impoverished and ruined. We will not lose heart, but will rebuild our dear... Samaria, of course, even more beautifully. But, the prophet says, the people do not turn to the One who strikes them, and they do not seek the Lord of Hosts. That means that under conditions of decline and disintegration, when the economy is dying and abuse of power is multiplying, when the country is falling apart like a sandcastle, the right thing would be not only to think about how we should arrange... Samaria, of course. The right thing would be to think: "What is our sin that has brought us to this?" and to seek the Lord of Hosts.
The key words of the whole prophecy are verses 1-2 of chapter 10. The prophet accuses those who enact unjust laws and write cruel decrees, who deprive the poor of justice and rob the weak among the people of their rights. This denunciation is addressed by no means only to Pekah and Hoshea, the kings of Samaria at that time, but to the whole country. This common responsibility is perhaps the reverse side of the unity of a nation, the unity of a country. And therefore the cruelty and tragedy of our history is a matter for our common repentance.